snowgirl wrote:I saw Blue's thread before I saw this one. Thank you purps and Blue for sharing this sad news with us. It just breaks my heart that some people suffer so much that taking their own life seems the preferable course of action. My sincere condolences to his family and loved ones.

Yeah, sad that anyone feels that unbearable inside, or that it doesn´t seem easy to tell who is feeling like that to help them.

Taking advantage of what is not working to make changes in your life often leads to your greatest opportunities and accomplishments --GND

I'm utterly stunned and saddened. I used to correspond fairly regularly with Jon back in the day. Kind of lost touch after we had both stopped posting much for a while. When he started posting briefly a while ago, it seemed like he was in a better place, mentally, after some very tough times. I'd just been meaning to PM him to see how things were going, but didn't get around to it. He was about the most sincere and nicest guy I've ever 'known' from the internet and he was someone that I'd looked forward to meeting some day in real life. I find myself at a loss for words.

Korky wrote:i remember being on Samothraki island is 2003 and apologizing for being an American under Bush II.

Jono was always kind to me. Always! He was my favorite. Life dealt him a very difficult deck of cards. He was suffering from severe depressions for a very long time. Nobody knew how to treat him but one psychiatrist prescribed him supposedly the right medication.

I thought it was working... He was full of life and joy. We were planning to meet in California or Thailand .

I'm so sad to hear this news- Jono seemed to be a genuinely nice guy and I'm sorry to know he was struggling so much that he had to leave. My condolences to his family and everyone who knew and loved him. I often say that it is always too soon to say goodbye when someone dies...and sometimes it is unbearably too soon.

He was certainly an enjoyable piece of the PS puzzle...someone who, as this thread shows, managed to make a favorable impression here as one of the good ones and an interesting person to know. He was on the short list of PS-ers I would make an effort to meet in person. He hasn't been here recently - but he was not forgotten and he will be missed.

Shavenhead wrote:A commom thread was his love for, and intense interest in Zimbabwe

Yes I was going to mention that too--he had a real sense of his roots there. I recall for a period of time he posted a series of letters written by a woman in Zimbabwe chronicling the downward slide of the country under Mugabe. I think she was a white farmer in Zim, not sure. Anyhow Jono spoke about that topic with a real sense of loss, but never with any anger--it was pretty amazing.

Ahhhhh shit. I'm stunned. I was wondering 2 weeks ago where he had been, and was going to try catch up for a beer if he still lived in Darwin. My sincere condolences to his family and friends. Jono, RIP mate, Andy.

The rich get richer, the poor get the picture, the bombs never hit you when you're down so low.

I recently became his friend on Facebook (after 'knowing' him here for years) and enjoyed reading what he had to say on Facebook as much as I did here. Such a sad loss for those he left behind. He was a wonderful human being. RIP Jono In Adelaide.

This is such sad news I've been wondering where he's been.I never met him but he's someone I know I would have really liked.He'd PM me occasionally to reply to some of my posts......sometimes starting out with ...."Hey Buddy".......His last PM was giving me helpful advice on taking care of my elderly mother and her husband. You could tell he had a great big heart for people.Rest in peace Jono........you'll me missed by many.

The reason it hurts so much to separate is because our souls are connected.

reading this thread made me think of the times he joined us in the politics branch.he used to actually frustrate me, yea, really, post 9/11 i'd get these conspiratorial threads going, finding arguments was easy, but, no, not jono, always the damn voice of reason.i think at one point i just gave up trying to get him riled, it was impossible.

-In short, you're a mouth-breathing moron who isn't mentally stable or able enough to render any sort of judgment that ought to respected by people who are able to breath without drooling all over themselves. Moethebartender

Jono in Adelaide was one class act, and my memories of him go back to at least 2002, and noting that he seemed one of the most gracious and unflappable posters ever to grace the Thorn Tree. He took all the comments about the only good thing South Australia had to offer was high quality red wine and stunning close-up views of Great White sharks with great humour.

andybox wrote:Ahhhhh shit. I'm stunned. I was wondering 2 weeks ago where he had been, and was going to try catch up for a beer if he still lived in Darwin. My sincere condolences to his family and friends. Jono, RIP mate, Andy.

A few months back he was still in Darwin. We communicated privately since the days of Lonely Planet. Again, he was very, very kind. He even shared the details of his private life/his relationships and his passions. I had great respect for him and he probably sensed it. After the LP political section was shut down he never passed a judgment on me. When I complained to him that the anti-Semites were once again gaining up on me he told me that as long as he was a moderator I was protected. He was very clear what side he was on privately but at the same time was very, very diplomatic publicly. He was the only one on this forum who had my personal email address.

andybox wrote:Ahhhhh shit. I'm stunned. I was wondering 2 weeks ago where he had been, and was going to try catch up for a beer if he still lived in Darwin. My sincere condolences to his family and friends. Jono, RIP mate, Andy.

A few months back he was still in Darwin. We communicated privately since the days of Lonely Planet. Again, he was very, very kind. He even shared the details of his private life/his relationships and his passions. I had great respect for him and he probably sensed it. After the LP political section was shut down he never passed a judgment on me. When I complained to him that the anti-Semites were once again gaining up on me he told me that as long as he was a moderator I was protected. He was very clear what side he was on privately but at the same time was very, very diplomatic publicly. He was the only one on this forum who had my personal email address.

These are al just wonderful tributes to someone who earned all of our admiration. I am no believer in the after life in the religious or spiritual sense, but the memory of a good person goes on living within everyone he or she has touched. Jono really has touched all of us.

Everyone who commented here has described Jono's attributes to a tee. He was in real life as fine a person as has been described here. I would add that he had a great sense of humour and wasn't above playful teasing, as Fritz and I discovered on our trips with him to SEA.

But that was all in fun. I can't remember him ever criticizing a person either on the forum or in person. Not once.

andybox wrote:Ahhhhh shit. I'm stunned. I was wondering 2 weeks ago where he had been, and was going to try catch up for a beer if he still lived in Darwin. My sincere condolences to his family and friends. Jono, RIP mate, Andy.

A few months back he was still in Darwin. We communicated privately since the days of Lonely Planet. Again, he was very, very kind. He even shared the details of his private life/his relationships and his passions. I had great respect for him and he probably sensed it. After the LP political section was shut down he never passed a judgment on me. When I complained to him that the anti-Semites were once again gaining up on me he told me that as long as he was a moderator I was protected. He was very clear what side he was on privately but at the same time was very, very diplomatic publicly. He was the only one on this forum who had my personal email address.

It is hard to lose somebody as precious as Jono was. RIP Jono.

Yeah he told me where he worked Queenie, and we bantered a bit about the rednecks in Darwin. I knew he was going through a rough time, but never knew it was as bad as it was.

The rich get richer, the poor get the picture, the bombs never hit you when you're down so low.